5 Reasons to Try Pressure Cooking

You might have memories of old school stovetop pressure cookers and all the mess and hassle they caused, or you might not have memories of them at all. But recently, electric pressure cookers are everywhere—online and even in your grocery stores—and it seems like everyone is talking about them. But what’s all the hype about? Pressure cooking is a true game-changer when it comes to meal time. Here are 5 reasons to try it.

1. You don’t have to plan meals ahead of time. It happens to everyone: You get to work and realize you forgot to take the meat out of the freezer for dinner, and there’s nothing in the house that’s ready to make instead. Your only options are to stop by a store on your way home or hit the drive-thru. With a pressure cooker, you can cook frozen meat without thawing it, and have a flavorful meal on the table in just a few minutes more than it takes to cook thawed meat.

2. You can make weekend meals with weekday effort. You might dream of making a pot roast on a weeknight, but between work, kids’ activities, and everything else going on, it’s just not an option. With a pressure cooker, you can make a meal featuring pot roast70 percent faster than you could in the oven or on the stovetop. It’s the fastest way to cook big cuts of meat and still get tender, juicy, delicious result.

3. You’ll save a little money. A pressure cooker helps you save money two ways. First, pressure cookers use far less energy than traditional cooking methods because they cook so quickly. Second, you can use them to cook whole foods like beans, legumes, and stock, so you don’t have to buy more expensive canned or prepared versions at the store.

4. They’re so easy to use that you can spend time doing something other than cooking. Unlike stovetop pressure cookers, you don’t have to adjust electric pressure cookers while they work—just push a button and let it work its magic. To make things even easier, the next generation of pressure cookers is programmed so you don’t have to guess how long to cook chicken, stew, rice, or the other foods you cook all the time.

5. They encourage you to experiment with new foods and flavors. Using a pressure cooker opens up a world of possibilities. These appliances can make anything from your family’s standbys to something totally unexpected and completely delicious like perfect cheesecakes, homemade yogurt, or anything else you can imagine.